Legend
by Fan of Fanfics
Summary: When the planet Shear is assaulted by a host of deadly monsters, Cabot is tasked with assembling a team to take them out. The process was...sketchy. But effective. Particularly the recruiting of a young blonde, from the forbidden planet, know only as 'Legend.' It was considered a high crime to travel to Legend. Now Cabot understood why, and knew he made the correct choice.


So, this has been sitting in my unfinished folder for months now. It's taunting me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Evolve.

Opening his eyes, Naruto took a deep breath as his eyes took in the dull, flashing red of the warning lights. They were approaching the surface of the planet. The young blonde looked to his companions with a smirk. For a few seconds, he lamented the fact that at the moment he was here, about to leap into the unknown, instead of back home, working toward becoming the Hokage. But that only lasted about ten seconds before he remembered just why he wasn't. "Hey Tin-Man, you ready for a fight?" he asked, turning toward the yellow figure, who was currently placing his head upon his shoulders.

"Naruto, please refrain from referring to the robot as 'Tin-man," the mechanical figure replied. Naruto wasn't sure how a machine could sound annoyed, but being from the world his new companions called 'Legend,' the blonde ninja wasn't well versed in the technology of the off-worlders. "I am neither made of Tin, nor am I a 'man' in any biological sense."

"Relax, Bucket," Val said. Naruto looked at the team medic as she spoke. Valerie 'Val' Wolski. Word among the rest of the hunters was that she was a spy. However, all the ninja had learned so far was that the young woman was a great fighter, and a great healer as well. She knew her way around a medgun. Good thing too. The training simulations were brutal, and if what the colony records stated were true, these...things they were going after were just as brutal, if not more. "It's just a nickname," She continued as she ran a last minute check on her medgun. She'd need it. Naruto had refused to wear a jet-pack...or a parachute. She had never been to Legend. Nobody had for nearly a century. Just going there to recruit meant Cabot had broken nearly a dozen galactic laws. The place was called Legend for a reason. It was a forbidden world. No records. Only rumors. But if Naruto was an example of the people there, she thought she might know why it was forbidden. The people there were totally insane.

"I'm aware of the implications," came the robotic rebuttal. Bucket was the ship's computer, placed within a modified repair-drone chassis to act as a support fighter for the team. He was one of the first off-worlders Naruto had met when Cabot had come to his planet, and thus the blonde was more comfortable speaking with him than the others, despite his coldness at times. "I was merely remarking upon the inaccuracies of it. Nothing more." Naruto rolled his eyes. If the robot would have had an ass, the blonde shinobi was sure there would have been a massive stick shoved up it. Despite his disdain for their reliance on tech, Naruto still slipped an emergency pistol into the holster on his hip, before strapping a Combat Shotgun, generously given to him by Parnell, to his back. He would have shrugged off the personal shield generator, as he was told he would have to use it sparingly anyway due to it needing to recharge periodically. However, he figured he should at least make _some_ concessions. After all, Cabot was his boss for the time being, and had made him the first shinobi ever to leave the planet.

Turning to the final two members of the current drop squad, Naruto began to furiously pet the trained Trapjaw companion owned by the Trapper, Maggie. "What do you think, Daisy?" Naruto asked, chuckling when the dog-like animal began to lick his face affectionately. "Should Bucket lighten up?" Cocking her head and letting out a small whine, the Trapjaw just went back to licking the shinobi. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You sure you don't want a parachute, at least?" Maggie asked, beginning to ready herself for the jump and subsequent drop. "It's a long way down." Naruto just smiled, before gripping the rail near him, preparing to make the leap himself. Maggie was a woman of few words. She came off as cold, and abrasive. But Naruto knew it was an act. Beneath that rock hard exterior was a kind, compassionate person. There had to be, with the way she doted on that Trapjaw of hers.

"I'll manage," he replied. Val just shook her head and sighed.

"I get the feeling you're going to make my job more difficult than that monster down there," she said as the locks disengaged on the bay doors, which opened up revealing what was indeed a _very_ high drop. Naruto just made a face, sticking his tongue out at the combat medic, before taking a flying leap, turning backwards in midair to give the others a quick, cocky salute before gravity took hold. The other hunters wasted no time in exiting the drop-ship as well.

They watched as the blonde plummeted, nothing to slow his fall. Val flinched as she watched him grow nearer and nearer to the ground. Even Daisy averted her gaze so as not to watch the splat. Naruto though began to channel chakra into his arms and legs, using it to strengthen his muscles and bones and absorb the shock. His landing on all fours shattered the platform beneath his feet, putting a dent and numerous cracks in the structure as he slammed down with great force. He was standing by the time the others gently descended to his level.

"Holy shit, Blondie," exclaimed Maggie, taken aback by the casual way Naruto had shaken off the impact. "When Cabot said he got us a ringer, I was a bit skeptical...especially considering your age...I just hope you're capable of taking a hit from this Goliath like you took hitting the ground." Naruto just rubbed the back of his head. He prepared to say something, but before he could, the relative quite of the jungle was abruptly shattered by a flock of startled birds. "There's our quarry, team!" shouted Maggie, Daisy already on the hunt, not even waiting for the rest of the team to get moving. Naruto cocked his shotgun in preparation.

"We have to get ahead of this bastard," the blonde said. "Mags, Val, you both follow Daisy. Bucket, you and I will head around the territory the other way. See if we can head him off."

"You sure you can handle it by yourselves out there?" asked Val, reaching for her medgun. Naruto just leaned his weapon on his shoulder, before crossing his fingers in a cross shape. In a burst of smoke, three more Naruto's popped into existence, each holding a shotgun of their own.

"We'll manage," the original said, before all three leapt a near impossible distance. Bucket just looked at the two ladies.

"And I thought one of him was enough trouble," the robot said, before activating his jetpack and rocketing off in the blonde's direction. Despite his irritated tone, Bucket found Naruto's movement through the trees and over the rocky terrains to be fascinating. He too, like Maggie, had been skeptical about just what the Legendaries could do. After seeing Naruto, however, he understood just why Cabot had been so adamant about breaking the law. The myths coming off that planet weren't simple myths. Something about the humans there was, for lack of a better word, superhuman.

"Naruto! If we do end up in the Goliath's path, what's our plan of attack?" Bucket waited a moment, before the audio receptors in his head picked up the voice of his teammate.

"We get in front of it. Hold it down until Maggie and Val catch up and throw up the arena." Looking down below, he also noted, "Up and over, Tin-man! Tyrant below!"

"Duly noted!" the robot replied, not even bothering to comment on the tin-man remark. "Shall I terminate?" Naruto just looked over his shoulder mid-jump, looking to Bucket, and then the Tyrant down in the water.

"Nah," he replied. "If we can't contain the Goliath, chances are he'll come looking for a big meal. Tyrant will be first on the list. And you and I both know how much damage a Tyrant can do, even to a Goliath."

"Yes," Bucket replied, dryly. "And I suppose Miss Caira demanding you be careful has nothing to do with it?"

"Yeah, the girl who uses a single gun that fires healing grenades AND Napalm rounds wants me to be careful?" Naruto commented sarcastically, doing a backflip over a rather large gap in the trees. "Doesn't she constantly beg to bring back living animal samples?"

"I'll never understand the mechanics of the romantic human relationship," Bucket announced, landing on a high rock formation. "I'm deploying a few turrets, and deploying my UAV as well. We have to be getting close."

"Alright," replied Naruto, a bit flustered by the 'romantic relationship' sentiment from the robot. So Caira was a little overprotective, but she was the team medic. That didn't mean they were romantically involved...despite the numerous inappropriate and sometimes downright raunchy comments thrown at the two by Sunny, another member of the ragtag group of planet-tamers. Such as suggesting that Caira should examine the Legendary's anatomy, causing embarrassment to the scientist and the shinobi, and earning a laugh from most of the other hunters at their expense. "I'll fan out my clones. If this thing is in the area, we will know shortly."

Creeping along a branch big enough to conceal him from any creatures below, Naruto closed his eyes, ready to pounce once his clones alerted him to anything. "Maggs, Val, you found anything?" he asked over their com-link. There was static for a moment, before the Trapper's voice came in.

"Only a bunch of animal carcasses," she replied, rather casually. "How are things on your end?"

"Well, we passed a Tyrant earlier. Bucket marked its location in case this bastard gets past us. We figured if he's looking for a meal, he'll go for the biggest thing he can find."

"I'm just surprised you didn't try to ride it," Val chipped in, her dry wit making Naruto snort.

"You know, I'm not stupid," he said.

"I don't believe that was the implication," announced Bucket. "Merely that you're reckless."

"Thank you, Bucket. I appreciate the support-" Before Naruto could continue, one of his clones popped out of existence. "There!" he shouted, announced, leaping down to the ground below, landing silently this time as he dropped through the foliage.

"I see it," confirmed Bucket, having spotted the Goliath, feasting on a large animal. "It's consuming an Armadon. Perhaps we should stop it before it gets full armor?" Tagging the creature, his head quickly returned, reattaching to his body as he activated his jet pack. The howl of Daisy let the two know that the ladies were near as well.

Dashing through the trees and brush, Naruto made it to the clearing where the Goliath was eating. The creature whipped around quickly, having heard and smelt him coming. He seemed to eye Naruto for a moment before letting loose a ear-splitting roar. Naruto didn't flinch as the creature stood to its full height, beginning to stomp toward him, angry at having its meal interrupted. "And I thought Kyuubi was an ugly son of a bitch," the blonde said. Apparently, the creature was smart enough to know it was being antagonized, but not smart enough to know it was being trapped. Letting loose another howl, it began to charge at the shinobi who, despite himself, cocked his shotgun, training it at the Goliath's skull, between the eyes.

The monster brought its massive hands into the air, preparing to crush the little annoyance in front of him. Normally by now, any other creature so small would be preparing to dodge, but the pest didn't even move. As the fists came down, the beast roared in surprise as at the last second, the blonde dodged faster than anything it had ever seen, avoiding the crushing blow by mere inches. Before the Goliath could react, Naruto leapt onto the arm of the Goliath, running up it until her was standing on its shoulder, shotgun-barrel tickling the top of the monster's head. The shinobi quickly pumped a few rounds into the skull. At point blank range, they did more damage to the Goliath's armored hide, but did not have the power to pierce it.

In a rage, the beast began to throw itself every-which-way to try and dislodge the blonde shinobi. "Damn it, Naruto!" The blonde took a moment to see that the others had arrived, and Val had begun cussing him out. This distraction proved to be all the Goliath needed, twisting its arm up and snagging the blonde's leg, ripping him from his back. Slamming the blonde on the ground, the Goliath then through him into a tree, bending his back at an awkward angle.

"Shit!" Naruto grunted. "Probably should have opened with clones, instead." While Daisy distracted the Goliath now, Maggie began laying several harpoon traps, while Bucket used his rockets and auto-turrets to keep the beast from fleeing.

"Perhaps now would be good moment for the mobile arena," Bucket called, guiding another rocket into the Goliath, changing his path.

"Already on it," Maggie yelled back, hurling a drone-like device in front of her. From the device, a blue field of energy erupted, and as it flew higher and higher, the field expanded, trapping the monster in the area with the four hunters.

Naruto groaned as he felt the med-gun begin to knit bones back together. Cracking an eye open, he noticed Val giving him a dirty look. Naruto just smiled weakly as he began to stand. "So what's it gonna take to keep you from telling Caira about this?"

"Oh, I'm telling Caira about this," Val replied, a slight smirk crossing her face at the 'oh crap' look Naruto wore. Maybe that would teach him to-

"WATCH IT!" Naruto shouted, wrapping his arms around the medic, before leaping high in the air. Before she could argue, a massive rock crashed into the tree they had just been standing under, uprooting the entire things and shattering its trunk as it hurtled into the deeper brush. As Naruto let go, Val activated her jet-pack to remain airborne, surveying the area. Naruto dropped, tucking into a roll as he reclaimed his dropped shotgun. Looking up, he saw that the Goliath hadn't forgotten him, as it inhaled deeply.

"I hate it when Cabot's right," Naruto groaned, activating his personal shield as the Goliath released a gout of flame straight at him. "But I'm glad he talked me into keeping this." The flames wicked around the shield, but did not pass through, protecting Naruto. Knowing that the shield only lasted so long, he jumped, leaping out of and above the flames, pumping a few more rounds between the beasts eyes.

"Naruto, weak points!" Val shouted, piercing the monster's armor with her sniper-rifle, tagging a few temporary holes in the beast's armored skin. Nodding, the blonde used the Goliath's face as a stepping stool, leaping a great distance away, before turning. The Goliath roared, before charging at the blonde, preparing to ram him. Naruto just smiled brightly as Maggie's harpoons triggered, piercing into the monster and stopping him cold. As the Goliath struggled to remove himself from the trap, the rest of the hunters began to open up on it.

Val began by pumping it full of tranquilizer, slowing its movement considerably, before plugging the beast full of more weak points. Bucket's turrets were going to town on the monster, as he launched a volley of guided missiles straight into the newly made targets. The Goliath roared in agonized protest, and Maggie answered the monster with a roar of her own as she opened fire with her automatic rifle, while Naruto continued to fire round after round into the creature's skull. The mobile arena had already gone down, but it didn't matter. The monster was going nowhere. Every time it did manage to break one of the harpoons, Maggie simply laid another. Soon, the creature's armor was eaten through completely, and it was on its last legs. Naruto began to move closer, reloading his weapon as the Goliath growled. When it opened its mouth for one last attempt to roast the blonde, Naruto shoved the barrel of his weapon into the creature's mouth, before pulling the trigger. The shot ripped through the monster's brain, breaking through it's now-weakened skull.

With a gurgle, the creature stopped moving, before it simply fell dead at the hunters' feet. Naruto hesitated for a moment. He looked at the girls and noted they didn't seem to share his disgust at having to kill something, even a creature such as this. Sure, he'd do it, if it meant the safety of the people on this planet, but he never wanted to feel as...indifferent, as Val, Maggie, or the other Hunters. "Bucket, bring the ship around," Naruto said after a moment. "We're done here." A roar was hear from the forest, off in the distance.

"No," Maggie replied. "We're just getting started." The shuttle arrived, preparing to bring the hunters back, and with a last look at the harsh wilderness, Naruto climbed aboard. As the ship began to fly upwards into orbit, the blonde remembered his first time in one of these shuttles. It freaked the shit out of him. It wasn't his first time in a flying machine, but never one that went into orbit. It was a brand new experience.

"I trust everything went smoothly?" Naruto nodded, for a moment forgetting that Cabot was not actually there, merely speaking over a com-link.

"One dead Goliath, medium-rare," Naruto replied, slinging his shotgun onto a weapon's rack, the rest of the hunters replacing their own weapons, no need to be carrying them around the ship. "And no, we didn't bring back any samples." The blonde just smiled when he heard Caira whine a bit, knowing she'd be there to hear the report.

"We managed to find and terminate the Goliath while it was still in its first stage," Bucket interjected. "It appears you were right about the Legendaries, Marshall. Naruto went head to head with the Goliath, even jumping on its back." Naruto's eyes widened, and he began waving his arms erratically, trying to get the robot to stop. Maggie and Val shared a look.

"He did what?" Caira deadpanned, and Naruto could just feel the diabetic sweetness lacing her voice, and knew it was a trap.

"Oh yeah," Maggie replied, beginning to dote on Daisy.

"Waited for the last minute to dodge, climbed the monster's arm, and got smashed into a tree for the trouble," Val said, her hand holding the fidgeting Naruto in his seat. "Thought we'd have to call Laz in."

There was a silence on the other end of the com-link, before Caira, in a tone that just screamed 'talk back and I will murder you,' addressed the blonde. "Naruto...could I speak to you in private when you get back to the ship?" Naruto nodded furiously, before squeaking out a quick 'yes.' He had stared down demons. But angry women still scared the shit out of him. Especially one crazy enough to use one gun to fire both healing rounds and napalm grenades. Once Cabot had cut communication, Naruto looked to the other three, his glare threatening to burn through them each.

"I...fucking hate...all of you, right now," he hissed. Daisy whined, before leaping up and licking his face. Naruto didn't even notice, he was so focused on glaring at his three fellow hunters. Daisy just whined again, before slowly backing away.

Chapter End

So, this fic is only planned out to about five or six chapters, due to the five day structure of the Evolve 'Evacuation' campaign, which is where this idea came from.

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics


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